Jon Gruden has been tied to many a college football coaching rumor since being fired as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Notre Dame, Tennessee, Miami, you name it. If Gruden wanted to coach in the college level, he could have had the school of his choice perhaps. Instead, Gruden remains a fixture in the Monday Night Football booth and the namesake of Gruden's QB Camp. But how close was Gruden to ever getting in to the college game? Pretty close, as it turns out.

In an LA Times story about Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, Gruden discusses what he believes to be an overreaction to the new style up-tempo offense the Eagles have been implementing this year. In it, Gruden explains that it was Kelly who nearly lured Chuckie in to the college game while head coach at Oregon.

"Matter of fact," Gruden said, "he offered me the offensive coordinator job of the Ducks right when I got fired so I could learn his spread. I was going to do it, but my wife was halfway out the door."